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A short, frank film that depicts the destruction caused by a road accident has been released by the AA in an effort to curb texting-while-driving.

The AA Charitable Trust funded 'Cadence: One Decision, a Multitude of Consequences', and hopes to use it as an educational tool. It marks the start of the AA's #DontTextDrive campaign, a year-long project that encourages passengers to speak up when the driver is using their phone at the wheel.

An poll of over 23,000 motorists were asked what they would do if the driver of the vehicle that they were a passenger in began using his or her phone. The results showed that while a small majority of people would directly ask them to stop, a startling number would ignore it.

The film was written by Emmeline Kellie, who also appeared in the film, after she became uncomfortable with how many of her friends used their phones at the wheel. Cadence was directed by Jason Rivers, with cinematography by Will Price and music by Luke Pickett.

The film is designed so that viewers become attached to the characters – an experience closer to the reality of losing a loved one in a crash.